Business Agility and digital maturity in manufacturing were gaining focus as customers demanded more transparency into the production process, smart manufacturing through cloud-based technologies has been handy to simplify digital transformation.
Manufacturers have started using their operational data to improve overall effectiveness (OEE) and leverage Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML) for real time and predictive analytics capabilities. When the most sensitive manufacturers use their data effectively they can accelerate design, maximize products, reinvent supply chains, and operate sustainably.
ACCELERATE DESIGN:
Get to market with faster engineering and design using cloud-based computing. Recent years, engineering and design teams are increasingly distributed across the globe and working remotely and without workstations to securely access the application on any computer.
MAXIMIZE PRODUCTION:
Huge amount of machine and production data are available to transform operations to improve production and significantly reduce unplanned equipment downtime.
Synchronizing robotic and automated industrial equipment will make it easier to build applications that help in seamless working of robots.
You can achieve higher machine uptime by creating alerts from the equipment using data from equipment tags, sensors, and maintenance histories. Wireless sensors are available to proactively detect abnormal machine behaviour enabling predictive maintenance, Identifying potential issues faster to minimise downtime.
IMPROVE QUALITY:
Customer satisfaction, strong bottom line, and sustenance can be achieved in operations only through robust quality management (QM).
Data collection to provide actionable insights, customize and automate quality assurance, computer vision solutions to achieve higher accuracy are the ways to achieve better QM.
Use of ML to analyse images to spot defects and anomalies, automate visual inspection to have prediction with high accuracy and low latency.
INCREASE WORKER SAFETY AND PRODUCTIVITY:
Empower workers with technology to keep them healthy, safe and productive by notifying personnel of problems in advance to reduce risk of injury. Improve compliance and reduce risk using IOT enabled devices that trigger real-time alerts when unsafe behaviour occurs. We can also provide a safe space around the equipment to keep employees out of restricted areas.
Automatic notification of spare part ordering, work order issuing allows to quickly respond to issues on the factory floor to keep employees productive.
INCREASE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND REVENUES:
IoT Devices will be put in more effectively to build a large fleet of virtual connected devices. Simulate data and notify at regular intervals to simulate your fleet before deployment, or monitor individual devices and observe how this data is processed by the backend services. Smart products and machines can generate revenues by helping manufacturers go beyond one time sales by improving customer satisfaction and retention.
You can complete repairs or recommend spare parts before downtime occurs. This allows for automatic scheduling of service technicians along with advance information of what may be broken and what parts needed replacement.
REINVENT SUPPLY CHAIN FOR FASTER DELIVERY:
Creating end-to-end visibility in supply chain can keep check on production and transport. Using block-chain one can track data to trace the entire production process with highest efficiency.
Ensure on-time-in-full compliance, streamlined warehouse operations, and improved supply chain resiliency.
DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS AND CUT COSTS:
Smarter operations lead to reduction in carbon footprint, utilize fewer resources, sustainability improvement, and save costs.
These are achieved by running the equipment at peak performance, reduce consumption of Air, Electricity, Water, Gas used in the process, proactively resolve equipment issues.
CONCLUSION:
Advances in IoT, analytics, and cloud technology have unlocked major opportunities for today’s manufacturers. Those that can tap into their equipment and operational data will transform the way they do business and innovate faster. Make smart manufacturing a reality to optimize asset availability, improve quality management, enhance worker safety, accelerate engineering and design, develop smart products, and make your operations more sustainable.
